Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to microfiltration devices, that contain polymer microfilters, methods of manufacturing the same, methods to use the microfiltration device, and applications of the devices.
Related Art
Some medical conditions may be diagnosed by detecting the presence of certain types of cells in bodily fluid. In particular, cells indicative or characteristic of certain medical conditions may be larger and/or less flexible than other cells found in certain bodily fluids. Accordingly, by collecting such larger and/or less flexible cells from a liquid sample of a bodily fluid, it may be possible to diagnose a medical condition based on the cells collected.
Cells larger and/or less flexible than other cells present in a bodily fluid may be collected by filtering the bodily fluid. For example, targeted cells indicative of a condition may be collected by passing a bodily fluid through a filter having openings that are too small for the target cells to pass through, but large enough for other cells to pass through. Once collected, any number of analyses of the target cells may be performed. Such analyses may include, for example, identifying, counting, characterizing, and/or culturing the collected cells.
It is desirable for microfilters to have precise pore dimensions, not break during use, and not be autofluorescent for fluorescent microscope imaging. Conventionally, microfilters are installed in a microfiltration device and liquid samples processed to collect cells based on size on the microfilter.